EDISON - The township council is considering an ordinance that would require restaurants and caterers to identify certain food allergens on their menus.

"This will be the boldest, strictest and most impactful food allergy law in both the state of New Jersey and in the United States." Councilman Sam Joshi said. "After this, Edison is going to be the safest place to eat in the USA."

Under the proposed ordinance, which was unanimously approved on first reading on July 25 and is scheduled for a public hearing and final vote on Aug. 22, every facility that serves food or beverages must have a menu that clearly notates allergens in their items, Joshi said.

The allergy-friendly menu would have to notate which items on their menus contain the federal Food and Drug Administration’s eight most common allergens, which are milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat and soybeans, as well as monosodium glutamate (MSG) and commercial sulfites, used as a food preservative or additive, he said.

"It's a couple of hours of homework to be able to source the ingredients in each of your items and less than five dollars to implement," he said. "You only need to have one menu available upon request to be compliant. I'm not asking for every menu to be redone."

If approved, the legislation will impact the township's 635-plus restaurants, schools, eateries and bars, as well as the hundreds of caterers that come to the township from outside of town every year, the councilman said.

"The purpose of this law, which is so long overdue, is to bring awareness of potential allergens in foods," he said. "It would positively benefit 30 percent of families. It's a win-win for all. It protects a consumer from a potential allergic reaction and also protects restaurant owners from a potential miscommunication liability lawsuit."

With more than 97 languages spoken in Edison, miscommunication with a server can be fatal, he added.

In the last two years, the township has had 146 ambulance call incidences for full allergic reactions, Joshi said.

The councilman said restaurants in the township would not have to make or offer new food or beverage items.

If the law is passed, restaurant owners would have until Oct. 1 to identify on their menus all food items that contain or are prepared with the specified allergens and must indicate on their public display menu sign no later than Feb. 1, 2019 that such menus are available.

Marilou Halvorsen, president of the New Jersey Restaurant and Hospitality Association, said the ordinance "is almost impossible to comply with."

"People change ingredients in the kitchen all the time based on availability," she said. "How do you label properly every single menu item with every single ingredient? If you have a buffet, there is no menu. It's not practical. It's very, very difficult for restaurants to comply with this ordinance as it is written. The menus would have to be updated daily and be pages long. There are so many labels that people just aren't looking anymore."

Halvorsen said the association offers a food allergen training program.

"We ask that restaurants really encourage their servers to interact with the table asking about allergies and food sensitivities," she said. "If you notice when you go to restaurants, servers will certainly come to the table and ask if anyone has any food allergies and really handle it on a case-by-case basis."

Shaban Hani, manager of Villa Gennaro in Edison, is hoping the ordinance is adopted.

"We’re excited to move forward with this," Hani said in an email "We're a family-run business and our customers are like our extended family. We want them to feel like they’re at home when they dine with us. Identifying allergen information on the menu assures clear communication between our staff and our customers, and serves as a tool to both educate and inform. We take a lot of pride in our service and this ordinance allows us to take it to the next level."